Intros pt. 3:
"Buddy, come on! Hold still so I can-OOF!"
A large, wet, wagging tail covered in bushy gold fur smacked Fi James in the face. She pulled some soap suds from her now damp hair. Buddy let out a loud bark, clearly pleased with himself, and Fi resisted the urge to glare at him.
Why Fi of all people was the one responsible for washing a dog as big as Buddy, she would never know. But at least they were almost done here. Fi washed the last of the suds off Buddy, then dried him off with multiple towels. Buddy licked her face as a thank you, and then ran off.
Fi gave it fifteen minutes before he got all dirty again. If there was one dog that hated staying clean, it was Buddy.
She suddenly heard her parents calling her full name. It sounded like they were outside. Sure enough, both of them were squatted by the porch, appearing at something underneath it.
Her mother lifted her head. "Finn, there you are. Did you give Buddy his bath like we asked?"
Fi glanced up to see Buddy rolling around in her mother's flower beds, dirt covering his golden fur. "Yep. So much for that, though. What's under the porch?"
Her father pulled out a large, yet wriggling blanket; it was full of moving somethings. Suddenly, a nose poked out and Fi just had to gush when she saw what was inside. Puppies!
"Are we keeping any of them?" she asked immediately.
"Probably not," her father admitted. "Don't exactly have enough space for all these little ones in our house, so I'll be reaching out to some friends soon to see if they're interested in taking any of the puppies in. I know a guy who can help us take care of them until then."
Fi continued to play with the one puppy who had his head sticking out of the blanket. "Where will they stay in the meantime?"
"Probably in our shed, if we can get it cleaned out a bit. Want to help me with that?"
That sounded insanely better than cleaning the other dogs, especially if Fi got to play with some puppies in the meantime. She and her father had the shed cleaned by late afternoon, and the puppies were certainly enjoying the new space. One nuzzled into Fi's leg and she picked him up, the wagging tail only beating against her arm instead of her whole face.
Her father grinned. "I think he likes you."
"Okay, we have to keep this one," Fi insisted. "Please, please, please, please?"
"You promise to look after it, Finn? If we keep him, he'll be your responsibility."
"I promise!" Fi huffed. But it wouldn't be a problem. If she could look after Buddy, she could handle a puppy, even as he got bigger. She rubbed the puppy's head and he barked happily.
Her father laughed. "And he agrees with you. Alright kiddo, that pup is all yours. What do you plan on naming him?"
The go karts came to a sudden halt and Vee Skidmark laughed wildly despite their head being thrown against the cushion behind the seat. Driving around like this always gave them such a rush and they lived for that shot of adrenaline. They would've suggested just one last lap, please come on let's go for just one more, but they and their friends had other plans right after this.
"Hope you didn't mind riding with me," Vee's twin Axle said as they both climbed out of the go kart.
"It's fine," Vee scoffed. "You're an okay driver. And getting the tires fixed on mine shouldn't be too hard. You got the eggs?"
"Of course I got the eggs! They're all still intact too!"
Axle lifted up the carton lid to prove his point. Sure enough, there were no cracks to be found in any of the eggs. Joining the rest of their squad, the twins shared a sneaky look.
Mr. Dullbaum was gonna regret calling the Peacekeepers on them for the crime of just having some childish old fun.
The gang made their way to Mr. Dullbaum's house, armed with three cartons of eggs and nothing else. Vee figure it would be enough anyways. At least the old man would learn his lesson and never bother the little motley crew again.
In a way, the power made Vee feel like they were on top of the world.
"I see it!" Vee heard Rochelle call out; she was correct, Mr. Dullbaum's house was right up on the hill ahead. Vee and Axle crouched low into the surrounding bushes, their friends following their lead. Axle opened up the carton and began passing out eggs.
The shell felt nice and smooth in Vee's hand as they gripped their egg tight. It was now or never. "On my count, when I hit three. Are we all ready?"
There was a quick chorus of responses, all positive. Vee raised their throwing arm. "Here goes nothing. One…two…three!"
The eggs flew into the air. A few fell a bit short and landed on the street, but most collided perfectly with the house and exploded in miniature bombs of white shells and yellow yolks. Vee placed their free hand over their mouth to stifle their laughter as they threw another egg, which splattered all over the window and coated it in yolk.
"Amazing!" Axle cheered, launching an egg too. "That went better than I expected. Serves that old fart right!"
Vee giggled. "Yep. He'll know better than to act all hoity-toity with us again."
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU KIDS DOING!?"
"Crap!'" Vee dropped the empty egg carton. Mr. Dullbaum had caught them and boy was he mad. "Everyone scatter!"
The kids took off running in different directions, Vee pulling Axle along with them as they hopped over the bushes and back down to the road. They jumped in the go kart and Axle wriggled in behind them. "Step on it!" he commanded and Vee did just that, whooping as they pressed down on the gas pedal. The go kart took off speeding away, leaving behind a panting Mr. Dullbaum in its dusted path.
Eugene Kang studied the Reaping outfit she had laid out on her bed for tomorrow and frowned to herself. This was maybe the fifth time she had changed things around and unfortunately, that was starting to wear down on her. But this was the last time she'd ever have to worry about the dreaded Reaping for a long time, and didn't she deserve to look her very best for it?
Plus, the fashion aspect helped to calm her nerves and alleviate her anxieties a little. Now more than ever, she was relying on her clothes to do the same. Something bad could happen, after all. She could wind up Reaped just when she thought she was safe. Picked with nobody to volunteer for her, sent into the Games all alone with no allies and no support from the spencers or her district, and-
Eugene gently picked up the skirt she had set out and felt its soft fabric in between her fingers. It began to ground her. Calm down, calm down, deep breaths. There was no need to have a meltdown. She'd make it through this, she knew she would, and today would be just fine. Eugene just put the skirt back down and returned to her closet. Time to look at some other options. Maybe this time, she'd find the one.
She selected her nicest red silk shirt and a pair of gray leggings and laid them down next to the previous outfit. A very formal outfit, but maybe the red would look nice under the June sunshine? Or was it too distracting? Did she want everyone to look at her? It was a bit of a loud outfit after all, one to cause whispers for sure, and Eugene wasn't sure she could handle all the noise on a day when her nerves would already be shot.
She returned the items back to her closet, suddenly noticing one of her dresses sitting next to the hangers. Eugene pulled it out and studied it. Huh. Maybe this could work!
She quickly got changed and stared at her reflection in her floor-length mirror. It was a black crochet dress with small yellow flowers and sleeves that only went just past her shoulders. Eugene did a small twirl, feeling the tassels bounce against her bare legs, and the tiniest of smiles crept onto her face.
The dress meant she wouldn't be sweltering under the Reaping day heat. And the pockets on the side would be good for storing any small items as well. The flowers added a nice splash of colour and detail, especially since Eugene knew she had a pair of barrettes that could match quite well. She was glad she managed to keep it together today, because she managed to work through this issue by herself and now had a perfect Reaping day outfit prepared. Plus accessories. What girl didn't want to accessorize from time to time?
Yes. This dress was the one.
Eugene changed back into her regular clothes and draped the dress over her chair for tomorrow.
